Chapter 111

Around 8 PM, the voice of Cheng Yu came through the walkie-talkie again.

At that moment, the two of them had just finished dinner, and they had already lit the coal stove. They were curled up on the sofa together, sharing the same blanket, watching a zombie movie.

When Cheng Yu’s voice came through, both of them shivered at the same time. Yao Ruoyun quickly pressed the pause button, and Shu Fu took the walkie-talkie from the coffee table.

“Have you packed the evacuation bags?”

The inevitable had come. Shu Fu replied, “Yes.”

“Mm, make sure to wear all your gear tonight and get some rest early. Tomorrow morning, around 7 AM, we’ll leave Wei. I’ll notify you again via the walkie-talkie.”

“I understand.”

For some reason, there seemed to be something off about her response, and after a few seconds of silence, Cheng Yu’s voice came through again: “Don’t worry, it’s fine.”

“Mm.” She couldn’t shake the feeling that he had sensed something. She wasn’t sure if he was being too perceptive or if she was overthinking it.

Shu Fu set the walkie-talkie down and turned to find Yao Ruoyun looking at her.

“Senior, are we changing locations tonight?”

Shu Fu nodded. “Let’s get the snow gear on first. Have you packed the backpack I mentioned earlier?” Even if they weren’t evacuating with Cheng Yu’s team, the backpack still needed to be placed somewhere visible.

“Mm, it’s all packed in the compartments, ready to go.”

“Good. Let’s wait a bit longer. Once midnight passes, we’ll prepare to leave.”

---

Yao Ruoyun didn’t know what Shu Fu was waiting for, but she wasn’t the type to ask too many questions. Since she trusted her, she had already decided to follow her, and wouldn’t pry into the details. She surely had her reasons.

At 10 PM, inside the Drift Island house, Shu Fu, who had just finished her shower, closed her silent black notebook.

She remembered the last time with Chen Fa and the others, when they had planned to leave the next day. She had thought she wouldn’t be able to leave Hexi Town, but around 10 PM, they had suddenly received a mission.

But now it was already past 10 PM, and with only 9 hours left before the scheduled departure after dawn, the wristband was completely silent.

She really didn’t want to leave the team like this—especially after confirming that Liu Shuang and Han Lan were about to awaken—but she felt like she had no choice.

She walked into the bathroom, washed her hands again, and applied some cherry blossom-scented hand cream. Then she went into the living room, sat cross-legged in front of the coffee table, and began her ritual three pulls. Cheng Yu’s team was about to relocate, and she needed to change places too. She felt like she should take this opportunity and pull the three accumulated rewards while she still had the chance.

First pull: Green third prize: Raft delay card (24 hours)

An unremarkable prize.

But it was fine, it would give her an extra 24 hours of full raft usage.

Second pull: Red third prize: Vegetable and fruit seed pack (random) ×1.

She actually got a new type of supply—vegetable and fruit seeds? Were these seeds for planting vegetables and fruits? What did “random” mean?

Shu Fu claimed the prize. A 1-meter by 1-meter flat cardboard box appeared in front of her. When she opened it, it was divided into small compartments, each containing a wide-mouthed glass bottle. The compartments and bottles varied in size, depending on the type of seed.

Each glass bottle had a label with the name of the seed.

She counted—there were ten rows and ten columns, so there were a total of 100 types of vegetable and fruit seeds!

She felt like this included every type of vegetable and fruit she knew.

But as far as she knew, there were far more than 100 types of vegetable and fruit seeds, so the “random” part probably meant that 100 types were chosen from the whole variety.

The glass bottles were sealed and dry, which was the best way to store seeds. Unfortunately, she was clumsy and didn’t know much about planting. She’d have to store these seeds for now.

Two consecutive pulls, both decent but not particularly useful for her.

In truth, Shu Fu herself didn’t really know what prize she was hoping for. The best would be the gold first prize, to get another raft attachment spot, especially since there were already three awakened companions now.

But she knew it was hard to get gold from just three pulls.

She closed her eyes and pressed the button for the final pull.

Third pull: Blue first prize: Drift Island House blueprint. (S-class collectible, luxury resort-style villa house) (Note: Requires a level 4 raft; this blueprint is special. Once equipped, the “Drift Bottle” icon will allow you to choose and place the raft house type directly.)

An S-class blueprint!

Shu Fu didn’t quite understand the second half of the note, so she decided to try it out directly.

After claiming the blue first prize card, she equipped the blueprint on the functional screen behind the door. A 3D model of the “luxury resort-style villa house” appeared on the screen.

Xiao, having both worlds’ memories, was well-read, and even she was amazed by the new house type displayed in the 3D model.

No wonder this house type was classified as S-class collectible. It was truly deserving of the blue first prize. This house design had completely surpassed the original size and layout of the small raft, and from the 3D image, she could see that all the furniture, appliances, and home décor inside and out were already pre-arranged.

Unlike last time, when she checked the 3D model of the triangular house, it only showed a simple house type and fixed furnishings. After being stopped from changing the house, she realized the furniture inside was the same as her original.

This time, however, it was a completely new house.

She would probably get lost living in this house at first…

Shu Fu thought to herself, wanting to directly try changing the house type, but the screen displayed a prompt: “The space where the raft is located is too small to change the house type.”

As expected!

Even though the interior space was compressed, areas like the terrace, balcony, and deck couldn’t be compressed, as making them too small would render them useless.

Shu Fu thought about it for a moment, then clicked the first “Drift Bottle” icon on her wristband.

She rarely used this starting icon now, as placing the raft could be done directly by pressing and holding the “Raft” icon.

She just wanted to see how, after equipping the blueprint, she could select the raft house type within this icon.

She soon figured it out. In her palm, there were two mini drift bottles, identical in appearance, with the only difference being the type of raft inside them. One contained a small raft with a flat-roofed wooden house, and the other contained a super mini version of the “luxury resort-style villa house” she had seen in the 3D model earlier.

She realized the raft could be accessed by twisting the bottle cap, so she tried to twist the cap of the bottle with the villa house raft inside.

Sure enough, the bottle cap wouldn’t budge, and the same prompt as before appeared: “The space where the raft is located is too small to change the house type.”

Shu Fu understood now and put the drift bottles away.

The three pulls were over, and while the prizes were actually quite good, they were mostly useless to her current situation, leaving her with a sense of emptiness, as though pulling them had been almost pointless.

Shu Fu sighed and began preparing to leave after midnight.

---

At exactly midnight, two fully armed figures emerged from the small tea house. One held a flashlight and cautiously checked the hallway, while the other opened her phone, looked at the downloaded electronic map, and mentally marked the general locations of the buildings.

Due to the snow-covered paths, they bypassed the sports hall and entered the main snow path. From there, they could either go to the large hotel across the way or head back to the intersection of the street where the first clinic was located and find an unoccupied house to hide in.

At the same time, the next morning, when the other team contacted her via walkie-talkie, she would use a satellite phone to reply, telling them she had already left Wei and wasn’t traveling with them. Then she would turn off her phone to prevent them from wasting time searching for them.

They might guess why she and Yao Ruoyun had split from the group, but at most, they’d assume she or Yao Ruoyun had some special ability. Their guess would be different from the truth, and even if they met again, there would still be room for misdirection.

The two adjusted the flashlight to the dimmest setting and carefully descended the stairs. After checking the first-floor hallway and ensuring everything was clear, they stepped off the stairs.

However, as soon as they stepped down, they found the floor was damp.

“Why is there water here?” Yao Ruoyun exclaimed, shining the flashlight on the floor.

Shu Fu, still standing on the stairs, looked down as well. It was indeed water—though not much, it was like the wet floor after a rainy day, where pedestrians had carried moisture in from the outside, not enough to form standing water.

But Shu Fu clearly remembered that the first floor had a thick layer of ice due to the snow that had seeped in from outside. Now, this was… the ice melting?

“Today, it should be colder than in the afternoon,” Yao Ruoyun said, pulling Shu Fu along as they walked across the damp floor. “But when we just left the small house, I actually felt warmer than I did in the afternoon. I thought it was just the thick gear we were wearing.”

The warmth was a good thing for Yao Ruoyun since, once the snow melted into water, they could use the raft.

The two opened the window and looked outside. The snow had stopped, and the night sky was overcast, making it impossible to see the moon. But since the area was surrounded by tall walls of ice and snow, even in the middle of the night, any bit of light would be reflected.

It wasn’t so dark outside. They both turned off their flashlights, stuffed them into their backpacks, and then opened the window, beginning to climb out.

Yao Ruoyun, being a bit taller, dropped down from the window ledge first and turned to extend her arms to Shu Fu, who was still half-hanging from the window. “Senior, let me catch you.”

Shu Fu:…

Thanks, but she wasn’t that short.

Shu Fu grabbed the window frame and was about to jump down when she suddenly felt a vibration on her left wrist. This vibration made her hesitate for a moment, unsure whether to jump or not, and her body slid forward. Fortunately, Yao Ruoyun had already prepared and caught her in a big bear hug.

Shu Fu didn’t have time to worry about anything else and immediately clicked on her wristband to retrieve her black notebook.

Sure enough, a new mission appeared!

**[Within four hours, complete the Wei Red Stone Road monument check-in to receive a 20% progress bar for the raft level 5. (Current progress for raft level 5: 60%)]

Note: Failure to complete this mission will result in a 40% deduction from the progress bar.]**

Shu Fu:…

She knew it.

This sneaky task had finally arrived.

She had seen the Red Stone Road monument at the edge of Wei County last time when they were traveling into the county by military truck.

The road to the county was a three-way intersection. Besides the winding mountain road the military truck took, there was another road that led to a wide bridge, crossing not over a river but over a mountain pass. It essentially connected the canyon where Wei was located to another mountain.

After crossing this bridge, it was like driving onto another provincial road that connected to the national highway of Xizhou Province.

All the vehicles transferring to Xizhou Province from Wei County took this road. Once on the provincial road, they could choose to head west, north, or south. The provincial road connected to many other roads, which was why it became the designated location for the rescue station in the county.

The vehicle that had previously gone to Gongmang County had taken this same route, and Cheng Yu’s team had also come this way when they were escorting someone.

Shu Fu recalled that when the military truck passed the three-way intersection on the way into Wei County, she had lifted the rain curtain and looked outside, remembering the red stone monument clearly. It stood directly opposite the bridge, towering and impressive. It didn’t seem man-made but more like a natural giant rock that had been quarried.

Saying it was red was a bit inaccurate; it was more of a reddish-brown color. When it was first quarried, it might have been more vivid, but after years of wind and sun, its color had faded to the appearance she saw now.

Regardless, the monument was located in the opposite direction from the Wei County center. If the task was to reach that location, did that mean she could leave Wei County now?

Shu Fu quickly realized that this task was exactly the same as Cheng Yu’s team’s planned withdrawal from Wei County—no, not just the same, but it had come earlier!

Because the deadline was four hours!

Shu Fu glanced at the time on her phone, which read 12:08 AM.

Four hours meant that by 4 AM, she had to leave Wei County with everyone?

She hadn’t done many timed tasks, but most of them were related to emergencies. So now, not only did she need to meet up with Cheng Yu’s team in advance, but she also had to figure out why they were leaving Wei County at this particular time.

As Shu Fu’s mind raced, she figured out their next move in just a few seconds.

At that moment, Yao Ruoyun had just placed her safely on the ground. “Where are we going next?” she asked.

Shu Fu, slightly overwhelmed, steeled herself and said, “Uh, we’re going to the sports hall next door to meet Cheng Yu’s team and leave Wei County together.”

Yao Ruoyun: … Huh?

---

A few minutes later, Shu Fu used the walkie-talkie to “knock” on the roller shutter door at the south end of the basketball hall.

Inside, Cheng Yu and Liu Shuang were standing, and Han Lan was in the corner, helping a short team member, Gao Shan, disassemble some mechanism. He noticed Shu Fu’s gaze and looked up, giving her a smile. “If you hadn’t notified us and just barged in, it would’ve been—boom!” He made an exaggerated sound effect.

“Shh.” Liu Shuang turned to signal for quiet. Given the time, if Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun were coming to them, something was definitely wrong.

Cheng Yu understood this as well: “What happened?”

Shu Fu asked plainly, “Why are you leaving Wei County tomorrow morning?”

“Huh, you didn’t tell her beforehand?” Han Lan spoke up again.

Shu Fu, however, kept her gaze on Cheng Yu. After a brief exchange of glances, Cheng Yu answered simply, “The temperature has risen too quickly, and with Wei County’s terrain, Qi Kai used the computer to simulate a disaster. He predicts that in four to fourteen days, there may be a snow avalanche.”

An avalanche!

Shu Fu was stunned and turned her head to look at the distant hills surrounding the county, just visible in the night sky behind the hotel.

That’s right, Wei County was surrounded by mountains, sitting in a canyon, and the ice and snow layers on the flat ground had accumulated to five or six meters deep. The snow on the slopes would be just as much. These slopes were mostly bare, with loose soil. When it had rained earlier, there had been frequent mudslides, and now, with the temperatures rising too quickly, the melting snow could easily trigger a large avalanche!

Considering the snow depth on the slopes and the area of Wei County, if an avalanche occurred, the entire county—would be buried!

Shu Fu’s expression darkened immediately. She quickly scanned her surroundings. Gao Shan had already entered the venue with his gear, and only Cheng Yu, Liu Shuang, and Han Lan remained in front of her.

She turned back to Cheng Yu and lowered her voice, “Don’t wait until tomorrow morning—let’s leave now. We need to evacuate Wei County before 3:45 AM!”

“What’s going on?” Han Lan had been the farthest away, helping Gao Shan, and when he returned, he only caught the last part, “…evacuate Wei County.”

Liu Shuang heard it too and looked at her with concern. “Xiao Fu, what’s wrong? Did you hear something?”

Both of them were shocked. Even Yao Ruoyun, who was by her side, took a step closer and quietly grabbed her hand. “Senior…”

Cheng Yu looked down at her. She met his gaze steadily. She couldn’t tell him about the task, nor could she say that an avalanche might happen in Wei County by 4 AM.

She could only tell him what to do.

If he didn’t believe her or wanted to ask why, she couldn’t say any more.

Though based on past experiences, she could leave with Yao Ruoyun and consider the mission complete, these weren’t strangers. Even without the “unawakened companions” connection, they were her friends!

No one could ignore the safety of their friends when they knew something bad was about to happen. At least, not her.

A moment later, Cheng Yu nodded at her. “Understood. We’ll leave now.”

There were many things she never asked him about, and so he never asked her either.

Since you’ve chosen to trust, trust until the end.

Cheng Yu turned around, and when he spoke again, it was with the tone of a team leader: “Liu Shuang, contact Awen, Wen Rou, and Qi Kai, tell them to drive to the snow path at the center of the square and meet us in thirty minutes! Han Lan, contact the rescue station and inform them that the plan has been advanced. Everyone must evacuate Wei County before 3 AM! Gao Shan—wake up the others, gather your things and get to the armored vehicle at the center of the square within thirty minutes! Remember, tell everyone it was my decision to advance the evacuation. That’s it.”

“Understood!”

“Got it!”

Gao Shan, hearing Cheng Yu calling him, quickly ran out of the venue and popped his head out: “Yes, Captain!”

The three of them responded to the order, and the previous confusion and disbelief vanished in an instant. For soldiers, obeying orders was their duty, something ingrained deep in their bones.

They had originally planned to leave early the next morning, and everyone was already in their gear and sleeping attire. The temperatures had risen these past couple of days, and since the indoor temperature wasn’t cold, they hadn’t slept in the basement but instead had set up makeshift beds using the armored vehicle. Now, they just needed to gather their things and they could leave immediately.

The team’s speed was even faster than Shu Fu expected. In just about ten minutes, everyone was ready to go, and the armored vehicle, which carried a large snowplow, was turned around and driven outside the venue.

Several team members got out of the vehicle, hurriedly attaching the snowplow’s snow ejector pipes so they could use them when leaving Wei County.

The snow path they had previously cleared only reached the county’s edge. Since the snow on the mountain roads hadn’t melted yet, they would need the armored vehicle’s snowplow to clear the way in order to leave Wei County.

Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun stood outside the venue. Shu Fu used her satellite phone to send a message to Chen Fa and the others, reminding them to be aware of the potential avalanche caused by the snowstorm. She wasn’t sure if it was because it was the middle of the night, but there was no reply yet.

Afterward, Yao Ruoyun also called her parents. They answered in a panicked voice, thinking something had happened to her. After hearing her reminder to watch out for the secondary disaster of an avalanche, they immediately reassured her. They were staying in the city, which was now considered one of the important cities in Xizhou Province. Rescue operations there were swift, and aside from the overcrowding, there were no other major issues, so she didn’t need to worry.

Han Lan quickly contacted the rescue station, and the response came almost immediately, as if they hadn’t slept.

“Evacuate before 3 AM?” A male voice exclaimed in surprise, “What happened? Why the sudden change?”

“The situation has changed, this is an order from above. Our team will evacuate Wei County within the hour. All survivors must evacuate before 3 AM.”

“But that’s impossible! The vehicles haven’t been repaired yet!”

Meanwhile, Liu Shuang also contacted Wen Rou.

The three of them had gone over in the afternoon, one reason being to drop off two almost lifeless guys in the venue for the rescue team to handle.

The other reason was that the snow path on the small street had finally been manually cleared, so Wen Rou and the others went to check the situation, explain the evacuation plan, and deliver fuel mixed with antifreeze.

However, Wen Rou’s situation mirrored Han Lan’s.

“Sister Huang, when we arrived, Awen hasn’t had any rest… You don’t know, two of their team members have suffered severe injuries from the robbery and have been in the clinic recuperating. They nearly exhausted all their resources to save their lives. Other vehicles can be left, but that ambulance must be repaired; otherwise, those two won’t be able to move!… Sister Huang, tell the captain, they’re in really bad shape, we want to help them…”

Liu Shuang turned around and looked at Cheng Yu. He heard the reply from the walkie-talkie as well.

Cheng Yu rolled up his sleeve, looked down at his waterproof digital watch, which displayed the time as 00:25.

He glanced at Shu Fu, then directly took the walkie-talkie from Liu Shuang’s hand. “The situation has changed, this order concerns life and death, do you understand?”

“Understood, Captain!”

“How much more time do you need?”

After a brief moment, Wen Rou’s message came through: “It’ll take about three more hours!” The repair work was something they weren’t specialized in, and only Awen could speed up the process; the others could only hand him tools.

“Too long. Your request conflicts with my orders. You need to understand, what you’re requesting now is a personal action!”

“Understood, Captain! This is a private request from the three of us! We will take full responsibility for the outcome of this action!”

Cheng Yu closed his eyes briefly. “We’ll wait for you at the central square. I can give you two hours, by 2:30 AM. If it’s not finished by then, I don’t care how you do it, but Awen and Qi Kai must be on the vehicle and leave.”

This meant that if they didn’t appear by the agreed time, they would leave and wouldn’t continue waiting.

Wen Rou clearly understood the solemnity in Cheng Yu’s words and responded, “Roger that, Captain!”

Cheng Yu handed the walkie-talkie back to Liu Shuang and ordered everyone to get on the vehicle: “We’ll wait for them at the central square!”